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Wednesday, June 23

No Collateral Damage for Graeme McDowell

“I really stuck to my plan which was to stay patient, stay calm and really put some nice calm swings on it and not really get sucked in by what the rest of the guys were doing.”
−Graeme McDowell, 2010 U.S. Open champion

YOU HAVE TO STAY on task to win a U.S. Open. Play your own game and stick to your game plan, whatever that may be. Block out the distractions. Try very hard not to let the pressure overwhelm you. And also shake off the bad bounces, bad shots and bad holes. Graeme McDowell was able to do all those things well enough to outlast the other players and win the title.

One of the bigger challenges McDowell overcame early on was his pairing with Dustin Johnson. Poor Dustin imploded on the 2nd and 3rd holes. It was hard to watch. At the time, I wasn’t just thinking about Dustin. I was thinking about Graeme and how hard it could be to watch the disaster up close and wait out Johnson’s muffed shots, ball searches and more. It could have had an ill effect on McDowell, but the Irishman held his game and himself together while the talented 54-hole leader self-destructed and put up an 82.

3 comments
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Mark McCumber's quote "Forget the last shot. It takes so long to accept that you can't always replicate your swing. The only thing you can control is your attitude toward the next shot." is exactly what I think of McDowell's play. He just seemed so solid and unphased. Calm and cool is the way to go, getting upset and having a risky behavior doesn't work. (Most of the time)

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